Big sports fan (Wigan Warriors, Pittsburgh Steelers, Manchester United, Lancashire CCC), walking enthusiast.
The Fylde, Lancashire
Joined March 2011
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Mark Illingworth retweeted
Referee Tara Jones MBE has been awarded a @rugbyleaguewcup Semi-Final – just four years after playing in one 🏉
She will take charge of Saturday's clash between New Zealand and Samoa at McDonald Jones Stadium after impressing during her first tournament officiating 👏
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Hope we see Samoa vs Tonga in the World Cup final in 2 weeks.
Need a repeat of this enthralling entertainment.
Mark Illingworth retweeted
If I had to describe it, it's like a Celtic-Rangers game except all the religion is somehow a source of positivity.
It's genuinely on that level for atmosphere too. Totally bonkers.
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Average winning margin in group stage of 2021 World Cup = 42.1 points
Average winning margin in group stage of 2026 World Cup = 43.2 points
Despite reducing the number of teams, the average winning margin in the groups stages of this tournament has increased 📈
Mark Illingworth retweeted
As far as game-winning sports plays go, it can't get crazier than what happened in Whitesboro, New York on Friday night
(via chelanvanno, philly_j_vans_ / IG)
Mark Illingworth retweeted
"Let's just stretch this out as long as we possibly can to reduce the chance of them beating us next season."
Super League clubs will vote on expansion to 15 teams in the coming days, but they won't have a say on whether London come up. That will rest with the RFL, after the Broncos agreed to forego central funding for 2027. Potential of reduced funding in 28 too
theguardian.com/sport/2026/o…
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Thing is with #MUFC, the people who have the power to sack people are actually the people who need to be sacked.
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Farcical
Michael Cheika @LebanonRL Head Coach divulges that either the RLPA and/or @IntlRugbyLeague prevented the Cedars from playing a ‘warm up’ game prior to the World Cup, with Lebanon last playing a Test Match at the 2022 World Cup. This is an area that needs urgent attention #RLWC26
Mark Illingworth retweeted
It doesn’t matter who is linked with becoming Manchester United manager, because whatever the name (and most of those in circulation have previously already been ruled out), they are set up to fail.
The parasitic Glazer ownership has bled and broken the club, putting a financial noose around it.
In 2024, Sir Jim Ratcliffe talked a big game about a “three-year plan” to rival and outdo Manchester City and Liverpool. But the decision-making under INEOS’ charge of football operations has not just been woeful, but costly too. There is zero accountability for expensive mistake after expensive mistake.
There is still no clear direction on club identity, including style of play, which leads to profiling the right signings and manager. That was a major promise made by Ratcliffe, which hasn’t been kept.
To borrow his own words: “There have been a whole series of coaches, some of which were very good. And none of them were successful, or survived for very long.
The only conclusion you can draw is that the environment in which they were working didn’t work.”
It still doesn’t. It never will as long as the people who own and run the club betray Manchester United and what is required to be successful in the modern era.
You can harp on about structure, vision, and sell fanciful projects, but you will never have the right operation with the wrong people.
Mark Illingworth retweeted
If you want to know why this World Cup is on Premier Sports and not the BBC - start here...
The Premier League isn't just strangling rugby league - it's killing other parts of soccer, too.
Bournemouth, with a stadium holding 11k in a city the size of Warrington, just beat AC Milan 3-0.
That's Bournemouth, who have never won a major trophy but happened to win promotion in the year that the biggest TV deal in history kicked in and thus get £170m before a single fan buys a ticket.
Bournemouth get 80% of their income from a TV deal they barely contribute to, and just 4% from their fans.
For reference, that's half of the *entire* NRL revenue, just from TV, and five times the value of the Brisbane Broncos.
That's AC Milan, the team of Maldini, Baresi, Kaka, van Basten, Rivera, Gullit and Rijkaard.
They get half what Bournemouth get from TV - despite being one of the biggest clubs in the world with an average home attendance of 60k fans.
Bournemouth beating Milan isn't a surprise. They were $2.10 (11/10) favourites before kick-off.
Now remember that there's 19 other Bournemouths in the UK, each competing for attention, and this is what Super League is up against every single week for media spend and oxygen.
The BBC shouldn't be driven by this - Lord Reith wants a word - but commercially, they are. They follow the clicks, and the money, like everyone else.
Rugby league suffers. So does the rest of football. So does cricket, rugby union and anything else you might suggest.
Mark Illingworth retweeted
We’ve spent £490m on forwards since 2021 haven’t signed a better forward than Rashford
We’ve spend £100m on attacking midfielders since Bruno joined and haven’t signed anyone remotely close to replacing Bruno or offering him decent cover
We’ve spent £210m on central midfielders since we sold McTominay and none of them are better than him only Mainoo who wasn’t bought and was almost sold by INEOS
We’ve spent £200m on centre backs since Maguire was bought and he’s still our best CB
We’ve brought in eight fullbacks that can play LB since 2018, none have been improvements on Shaw the only one that could be was sold to Benfica for pennies
Wan Bissaka was sold to buy Mazraoui and promote Dalot to starting RB, both of whom have underperformed against Wan Bissaka and have fewer crosses, chances created and g/a
We’ve spent £65m on goalkeepers none of which are better than Dean Henderson
This is INEOS’s legacy, this is Man United now
“ole’s dross” are still our best players, no manager has managed to be as consistent as he was despite having twice the funding
Incredible
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Not sure if I would say rugby league is dying, but agree with the stuff about coverage. As I wrote in last weekend's column there is an unhealthy lack of variety in sports coverage now, as it focuses on just a handful of association football teams. morningstaronline.co.uk/arti…
Slow death of rugby league is down to data, algorithms and football’s hegemonic ‘Big Six’
It’s one of Britain’s best-attended sports but you’d struggle to find the World Cup on TV. What hope do the rest have?
✍️ @RorySmith
bit.ly/4yykinu
Mark Illingworth retweeted
How on EARTH Did this get through approvals?
Guys are calling it the Bird Reich
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Some more info on Crusaders-RFL. Told governing body were asked by clubs in strategic review to be more financially strict with new owners after demise of Halifax, Fev, Salford. RFL sticking to that and insist £150k escrow protects players/staff/club.
loverugbyleague.com/post/why…
Mark Illingworth retweeted
Carrick came in, got the players to buy in, did a great job.
Players got convinced to stick around that may have been looking to leave as they got assurances that the club would back the manager and invest in the summer.
Window ends with net 1 extra midfielder and Rashford who doesnt want to be there.
Big personalities and leaders feel like theyve been misled, manager feels like he's been let down, and the energy around the club falls off.
Its not rocket science. Carrick may not be the solution, but he's not the problem.
Rotten.